Matthew Barzun, the new American Ambassador to the Court of St James’s, has been eulogising about the ‘special relationship’ between the U.S. and the UK. But is that alliance under threat?

Only last week, the British Embassy in Washington ruffled American feathers when it tweeted a picture of a cake shaped like the White House surrounded by sparklers and captioned: ‘Commemorating the 200th anniversary of burning the White House. Only sparklers this time!’

Now 43-year-old Barzun, who arrived as ambassador last November, has complained about traditional British cuisine in next month’s Tatler magazine.

In reply to a question about his ideal dinner party, the Harvard graduate replies a tad undiplomatically: ‘I’ll tell you what I would not serve — lamb and potatoes. I must have had lamb and potatoes 180 times since I have been here. There are limits and I have reached them.’

Barzun, a Kentucky-based businessman, was made Ambassador to Sweden in 2009 in recognition of his fundraising work on the 2008 Obama presidential campaign.

He is renowned for his unstuffy style and has hosted a series of concerts featuring American and British acts at his London residence, Winfield House, in Regent’s Park.

‘When you have lamb the English way, with mint or redcurrant jelly, nothing can be more delicious.’

He adds: ‘Perhaps he’s not a very sophisticated character, although one doesn’t want to be rude to the American Ambassador.’

During his brief tenure, Barzun has dined at Chequers and Buckingham Palace, where he and his wife, Brooke, heir to the Jack Daniels distilling empire, attended a £500,000 banquet to celebrate Prince Charles’s 65th birthday last November.

No doubt, Barzun will feel a little sheepish when he is next invited round by Her Majesty, who is said to be partial to roast lamb for Sunday lunch.

Petulant professor attacks half-baked Newsnight

Sarah Churchwell, the broadcaster, 2014 Man Booker judge and American literature professor, is a regular in the Newsnight studio when the BBC2 show seeks a visually appealing academic.

But her appearances may be limited from now on.

She was not amused when Newsnight demonstrated its appetite for levity under editor Ian Katz by inviting Bake Off ‘bingate’ contestant Iain Watters to discuss his Baked Alaska disaster and present Kirsty Wark with a cake.

Asked if frivolity wasn’t humankind’s natural response to a reality it cannot bear, Churchwell persisted: ‘Sure, but we’re drowning in frivolity. Newsnight exists to fight that, not add to it. I hope Newsnight will offer me some insight. Not recipes.’

Hard to imagine Jeremy Paxman allowing such an item on the show.

How Shirley was thrown by ungallant McQueen

Sixties screen legend Shirley Anne Field was among viewers of the TV documentary about Steve McQueen, made by his son Chad and broadcast over the weekend.

Alfie star Shirley Anne was cast opposite the American ‘King of Cool’ in the British film The War Lover, but it was a painful experience.

‘I played his girlfriend,’ she says. ‘We had to do a scene where he throws me across the room. We rehearsed the scene and it was a bit bruising for me.

Not so chivalric? Steve McQueen refused to throw Shirley Anne Field - because it would steal his attention

‘Just before the take, he went up to the director and said: “I can’t throw Shirley Anne across the room like this. I can’t do it.” I thought, what a sweet man, what a gentleman.

‘And when the director asked him why not, he said: “Because when I’m throwing her across the room the audience will all be looking at her and not at me.”

‘He was that sort of guy.’

Best known for his role as gay bon vivant Gareth in Four Weddings And A Funeral, Simon Callow says he almost became a sailor in real life.

‘I applied to only one drama school because I just thought that’ll be a test case. If they reject me, I’m probably rubbish. Luckily — for me, anyway — they said: “Yes, come and study here.”

‘But if they hadn’t, I think I’d have joined the Navy. I was just going to go away and discover the world.’